The present invention relates to an article for collecting urine and stools of a user, more particularly a bedridden user, whether an adult or a child, and whether female or male.
Usually, in order to collect urine and stools from a bedridden patient (in particular in a hospital or in a retirement home) who is not capable of using the toilet, use is made either of disposable diapers or else of washable bedpans.
None of those known solutions is satisfactory from a hygiene point of view.
When a diaper is used, it needs to be removed from the patient's body in order to be disposed of and replaced by another diaper that is clean. There is a risk of accidental contact between the patient's fecal matter and the person (e.g. a nurse) changing the diaper, or between the fecal matter and any other equipment, or the ground.
When using a bedpan, since it is not disposable, it needs to be cleaned in order to be reused. That means that each time the bedpan is soiled, a person (e.g. a nurse) needs to intervene to remove the soiled bedpan, replace it with another bedpan that is clean, and then transport the soiled bedpan to a facility where it can be cleaned and then disinfected. Consequently, bedpans are handled very many times. Furthermore, the cleaning and disinfection of bedpans can be imperfect, and an imperfectly disinfected bedpan can thus be put into contact with another patient, another person, other equipment, or the ground.
However it is now known that repeated contact with fecal matter, or with a surface or equipment contaminated therewith, increases the risk of contamination by various microorganisms contained in fecal matter, and in particular bacteria. This is particularly problematic in an establishment such as a hospital or a retirement home where nosocomial infections and in particular infections by bacteria that are multiply resistant to antibiotics, represent a health risk for patients, and also for care staff.
There thus exists a need for a device for collecting urine and stools of a user that makes it possible to limit or avoid accidental contact between a user's fecal matter and the person handling the device.
In this respect, a disposable container suitable for fitting to a conventional bedpan is proposed in Document US 2003/0116575. That disposable container has a bottom storage compartment for storing the patient's urine and stools, and a top reception compartment for directing urine and stools from the patient to the storage compartment. The reception compartment and the storage compartment are separated from each other by an antisplash element comprising at least one flexible flap. The at least one flexible flap defines a slot that opens to pass urine and stools from the patient, and then closes again once they have passed through the stools.
Nevertheless, the disposable container proposed in Document US 2003/0116575 does not enable stools to be separated from urine, even temporarily, thereby increasing in particular the risk of the patient being soiled. Furthermore, Document US 2003/0116575 does not propose a solution for limiting or preventing bedsores appearing when the user needs to be bedridden for a long duration.